At the University of Rhode Island 2014 Excellence Awards Ceremony, Sara Hickox, Director of the Office of Marine Programs at the Graduate School of Oceanography, was awarded the URI Foundation Administrative Excellence Award by URI President David Dooley.
Her award citation read, “over the years, she has developed a reputation as a creative administrator who is excellent with people and committed to URI, GSO, the ocean sciences, the environment, and the programs and scientists with whom she works. She has built on GSO’s core strengths and introduced an impressive range of new initiatives that have expanded the capabilities of the office and widened its geographic reach. She is a constant reminder of the significant marine and oceanographic expertise at URI.
Many programs fall under the umbrella of Hickok’s office including the Office of Marine Programs and Metcalf Institute, both of which she helped to establish. She led the international outreach efforts for the Census of Marine Life, an unprecedented, decade-long effort by 2,700 scientists worldwide to catalog the nature and extent of marine life on the world’s oceans. She currently oversees the engagement team for a global research project called the Deep Carbon Observatory, an international community of 1,000 multi-disciplinary scientists forging a new, integrative field of deep carbon science to unlock the secrets of carbon in Earth. These are just a few examples of her extensive body of work.”
GSO’s Dean Bruce Corliss noted “Sara’s leadership and efforts have helped to target a wide range of audiences including scientists and engineers, K-16 educators and students, the general public, journalists and the media, and alumni, donors, and friends of GSO. Over the years, Sara has managed numerous educational exhibit and website development projects and worked with technical experts in the design, construction, and utilization of satellite and Internet2 educational communications and exhibition initiatives. Congratulations to Sara and her commitment and dedication to excellence.”
Photo: Sara Hickox and Michael J. Smith, President, URI Foundation. Photo courtesy of Michael Salerno.